Fireworks Checklist

The following checklist includes all the Fireworks skills you need to understand and be able to perform for IDIS 110 (RIT). Print a copy of it out to use as a guide and self-study sheet.

• What does the word resolution (or dpi) mean?

• What is the difference between bitmap and vector graphics?
  • Bitmap graphics are made of tiny squares called pixels. They can look "blocky" when enlarged.
  • Vector graphics are made of mathematical lines, curves, and color information. They can be resized and reshaped without any change in quality

• BMP files are large, uncompressed, "pure" image files. File formats such as GIF and JPG are compressed and require much less disk space; the trade-off is that they are of lesser quality.
  • Think of GIF and JPG as the MP3 of image files

• You have drawn a circle, square, line, or other vector object. How do you convert it to a bitmap so that you can modify parts of it?
  • Select the object and choose Modify > Flatten Selection

• What does cropping an image do?
  • Cropping an image removes material outside an indicated area.
  • To crop an image, click the Crop tool in the tool bar and drag to select the part of the image you want to keep. Then double-click inside the selected area. Everything outside the selected area disappears.

• How do you change the brightness and contrast of an image?
• Choose Filter > Adjust Color > Brightness/Contrast. . .
• Lower contrast means dark shades become lighter and light shades become darker. Higher contrast means dark shades become darker and light shades become lighter.
  

  Lower Contrast	Original	Higher Contrast

• How do you resize an image?
  • Choose Modify > Canvas > Image Size. . .

• How do you optimize an image for viewing and downloading on the Web?
  • The easiest way is to choose File > Export Wizard.

• How do you add text to an image?
  • Click the Text tool, position the cursor where you want the text to occur, click, and begin typing. Font, color, size, and formatting can all be modified.

• What are hotspots, and how are they added?
  • A hotspot is an area of a Web graphic that, when the mouse cursor is placed over it, yields a URL link, pop-up menu, status bar message, or alt (i.e., pop-up) text within the Web browser.
  • You can draw a hotspot on the image using the Hotspot tool (located in the Web section of the toolbar), or you can select an object and choose Edit > Insert > Hotspot.

Last updated July 15, 2004
Contact: rit@calvin.edu